Aghajani gave the figures for the year that ended on March
19 in a program aired on national television two days ago,
according to today’s report.

Tehran is shielded by mountains to the north, and rare wind
and rain worsen pollution. With 12 million residents and more
than 2 million vehicles, the city is among the world’s most
polluted. About 2,500 people in Tehran die annually because of
health problems caused by pollution, local media reported in
2010, citing the capital’s environmental organization.

The low quality of gasoline and diesel used by local
automobiles is partly responsible for the smog in Tehran, a
situation that also occurs in other large Iranian cities
including Isfahan, Mashhad and Tabriz, Mehr said, citing
unidentified officials. Yousef Rashidi, managing director of the
Tehran air quality control company, has said that domestically
manufactured cars and their ineffective combustion systems
account for as much as 80 percent of Tehran’s air pollution
rather than the poor quality of the locally produced fuel,
according to the report.

The government has yet to release $2 billion from the
country’s National Development Fund to expand the Tehran Metro
and build subways in other large cities, in line with stated
plans, Mehr said.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Ladane Nasseri in Dubai at
lnasseri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andrew J. Barden at
barden@bloomberg.net